ESEEPI 0030 Cultural Diversity

Josh BishopWilgan Joseph

Jenny Sotomayor

Types of Exceptional Students

• Attention Deficit• Autism• Speech/Communication Disorders• Gifted Education• Hearing Impaired• Learning Disabilities• Mental Retardation• Visually Impaired

ADD/ADHD

• Inattention• Hyperactivity• Impulsivity• Movement Improves Learning• Outdoor Play Improves Focus

Autism

• Organizational Skills• Abstract and Conceptual Thinking

Issues• Incapable of Being Manipulative• Use and Interpret Speech Literally

Speech/Communication Disorders

Speech • Stuttering• Cluttering• Speech/Sound

Disorders• Voice Disorders• Dysarthria• Apraxia

Communication• Aphasia• Delays in

Speech/Language• Dyslexia• Cleft Lip/Pallet• Can Stem From

Other Disorders

Gifted Education

• May Not Be the “Straight A” Students

• Possibly the Class Clown• Asks Many Questions• Very Curious• Easily Off-Task• Impatient

Hearing Impaired

•Deaf•Hard of

Hearing•Deaf and

Blind

Learning Disabilities

• Difficulty Learning New Skills• Difficulty Remembering• Confusing Basic Words• Problems with Planning• Impulsive Behavior• Difficulty with Phonetics

Mental Retardation

• Low Tolerance for Frustration• Low Self-Esteem• Impulsive• Stubborn• Possibly Passive• May Engage in Self-Injurious

Behavior

Visually Impaired

• Vocabulary Issues

• Educational and Social Development

• Life Skills• Everyday Tasks

Education for All Handicapped Children Act:

• Free and appropriate education• Protection of students and parents

rights• Least restrictive environment• Individualized Educational Programs• Parental Involvement

• Fair Evaluations

It Is Important to:

• Embrace, not ignore, these concepts of differences

• Encounter these different children and try to understand what they could teach us

• Provide the best education possible for these children’s and young adults

As future teachers we are responsible for:

• Constructing interaction and knowledge, we have to continuously and carefully reflect on our own philosophical premises

• Building scaffolding, in order to decode, de-construct and construct our communication with these children

• Paying attention to our interpretive actions, and to be aware of our limits and our creative potential

Research Data:

• Emotion and cognition are tightly connected• Pay attention to other languages beyond the

verbal language• See change in a realistic way by considering

what is possible and what is not possible, in relationship to the child especially relevant for children with most serious situations

Videotaping is the best resource for observations since you are able to study their reactions and behavior to certain situations

Research Cont’• To be more attentive to listening to the families and

trying to understand their expectations, rather than influence them with ours

• Special rights (needs) children has a different way to be a child

• Many times we need to combine the clinical suggestion along with the knowledge of pedagogy and past experiences

It is important not to impose our interpretation to children of inclusive classrooms to allow them to explore both worlds and to avoid any stereotyping between children and children with special needs. We must let them communicate with one another and jointly participate together in activities

Alternative Teaching Approaches: The Denver Approach

• It asserts that children with special rights (needs) respond better in a situation that is very slow in stimuli

• Requires children and adults to perform certain tasks to become aware of others and to learn to take turns. Ex. they simply put coins in a small money bank

• Suggest that children sit facing a wall, in order to reduce stimulation

Knowing a Special Needs Child:

• Conducting professional development sessions to share positive experiences strategies, and techniques among teachers

• To allow special needs children to work together with other children so they can share the same experiences and imitate their behavior

• Cognitive development through imitation, when you imitate you understand, take ownership and retain the experience

• Letting the special needs students be observers even if they cannot imitate, it is consider as valuable as imitating

• That through inclusion in the classrooms special needs children experience a higher level of understanding

Inclusion

What is Inclusion

• Inclusion treasures diversity and builds community.

• Inclusion is about living full lives.• Learning to live together.• Inclusion makes our classroom for

of full life.

The Benefits of Inclusion

• Meaningful friendships• Increased understanding and

acceptance of diversity.• Greater opportunities for

interactions• Higher expectations• Increased school staff collaboration• Increased parent participation

Be Prepared

• Alternative ways for learners to demonstrate their skills.

• Get information about the learner’s needs.

• Plan your lesson.• High Expectation.

Accessible Overheads and PowerPoint Presentations• Larger Font size.• Use bold to highlight rather than

Italics.• Use bullets or numbers.• good background/foreground

contrast.• Do not rely on color to convey

meaning

Facilitating Participation

• Excellent physical layout.• Enough room for wheelchairs to

move around. • Sufficient lighting, noise levels• Make room for assistive

technology

Some Important Tips for Facilitating Participation

• Proper seating arrangements for students who lip-read.

• Allow one individual to talk at a time

• Repeat or rephrase questions.• Always use board or a chart to

write main ideas.

Assistive Technology:

• Any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially or off the shelf, modified, or customized that increases, maintains, or improves functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

Examples of Assistive Technology:

• Intellikeys• Touch Screens• Riverdeep Reading Programs• Kidspiration Writing Programs• Voice Recognition Software• Hearing Devices• Adaptive Devices for the blind

References:• Innovations: Periodical/Merrill Palmer Institute, Wayne State

University• Friend, M., & Bursuck, W.D. (2009). Including students with

special needs: A practical guide for classroom teachers (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

• Tomlinson, C.A. (2005). How to differentiate instruction in mixed ability classrooms (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education.

• Computer Education for Teachers (6th ed.). Vicki Sharp• www.reggioalliance.org• http://www.brite.ac.uk/resources/inclusive_classroom.htm• http://www.news.cornell.edu• Exceptional Student Sites:

http://faculty.usiouxfalls.edu/arpeterson/exceptional_students.htm